Kategorie: Crypto Markets

• Gateway is a Cosmos-powered appchain.
• It is designed to allow for access to unified liquidity in the Cosmos ecosystem.

Decentralized messaging protocol Wormhole has released its application-specific blockchain dubbed Wormhole Gateway. The appchain is powered by the Cosmos SDK, and aims at broadening access and liquidity with the blockchain platform’s ecosystem.

Wormhole Foundation, which announced Gateway on Friday, said the appchain is “compatible and complementary to IBC.”

Wormhole to connect 23 blockchains in Cosmos

According to details shared in a blog post, Gateway allows Wormhole to connect 23+ blockchains, including Osmosis, Evmos and Neutron, across six runtimes to Cosmos. This is achieved through a liquidity router that allows users to bridge funds to any appchain within the Cosmos ecosystem at no extra bridging fees, the protocol noted.

Introducing ✨✨Wormhole Gateway✨✨ – an application-specific blockchain, powered by the @cosmos SDK.

Gateway’s purpose is to help broaden access (and bring liquidity) to the Cosmos ecosystem while also improving Wormhole’s security and sovereignty. pic.twitter.com/qG1kyvcnoY

— Wormhole🌪 (@wormholecrypto) July 21, 2023

Gateway is also designed to improve Wormhole’s security and sovereignty. Security is key to the protocol given the impact of a February 2022 hack on the Wormhole bridge that saw a hacker 120,000 wETH worth $325 million. The exploit on the Solana-Ethereum bridge saw the price of SOL declined sharply amid community reaction to the news.

As part of enhancing security across the Cosmos ecosystem, Wormhole introduced Governor, a module designed to limit cross-chain contagion in the event of a hack.

In June, Wormhole introduced Automatic Relayers, a decentralised network of relayers that allows for cross-chain messaging that developers can tap into without having to develop, run or manage an off-chain component. With this developers can deploy a fully-functional cross-chain dApp via a single solidity contract.

The post Wormhole launches a Cosmos appchain called Gateway appeared first on CoinJournal.

• After the July 19 circular, it is illegal to engage in any cryptocurrency activities in Kuwait.
• Kuwait has joined Thailand, Indonesia, and Turkey to ban crypto activities.
• Violators are to face penalties as stipulated in Kuwait’s AML and terrorist financing laws.

Kuwait’s financial watchdog, the Central Markets Authority (CMA), issued a circular on July 19 declaring that all cryptocurrency activities including crypto investment, crypto payments, and crypto mining as described here were illegal in the Middle Eastern country.

The CMA also banned local regulators from granting licences to anyone attempting to “provide cryptocurrency services as a commercial business.”

Tough penalties for violators

The nation’s anti-money laundering and terrorist financing laws carry harsh punishments, the financial regulator warned. The circular made it clear that “securities regulated by the Central Bank of Kuwait and other securities and financial instruments regulated by the Capital Markets Authority” are exempt from the prohibitions.

In addition to forbidding cryptocurrency-related activities within the nation, the Kuwaiti regulator informed clients of the dangers posed by cryptocurrencies. “They do not carry a legal status and are not issued or supported,” it declared.

Kuwait has joined the list of nations like Thailand, Indonesia, and Turkey that forbid accepting cryptocurrency payments.

Kuwait’s move to ban cryptocurrencies comes after the National Committee for Combating Money Laundering and the Financing of Terrorism concluded its study that aimed at implementing Recommendation 15 of the International Requirements of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). However, it is essential to note that the FATF does not mandate that nations outlaw cryptocurrency.

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Key takeways

• The crypto industry experienced growth across Bitcoin and other L1s, L2s, stablecoins, DeFi, and NFTs.
• Bitcoin network growth included trading volume, transaction count, fees and hashrate.
• Solana, BNB Chain led L1s, while Liquid staking emerged as a key DeFi component.

Binance has released a report covering the first half of 2023, with details suggesting that the overall global crypto industry showed remarkable resilience following the crypto winter.

Crypto growth in H1, 2023

Published on July 20, the 120-page report highlights growth metrics across key industry verticals, including Bitcoin, stablecoins, DeFi, and NFTs. The H1, 2023 report also details developments within the gaming and metaverse, as well as institutional adoption and funding.

For instance, DeFi has seen a 43% year-to-date increase, while NFT volume – despite diminishing floor prices, rose compared to the second half of 2022.  In fundraising, the report highlights that the top 10 funds raised $3.6 billion.

USDT, the leading stablecoin by market cap increased its market share by 26% even as the global stablecoin market dipped 7%. USDD, crvUSD, GHO and LUSD all saw significant increases. The report also details key pilot cases for CBDCs and tokenization.

Also trending in H1 and today is the liquid staking and LSDfi, with the new subsector of LSDfi experiencing a 460% jump in total value locked between April and end of June.

Bitcoin’s continued network growth

According to Binance, the state of crypto in terms of adoption, usage, and innovation as observed in the first six months of the year portends an even better half of the year and into 2024.

One of the indicators of a better H1 for crypto in 2023 is Bitcoin’s network growth. Binance says this was evident through metrics such as the 185% year-to-date jump in trading volume and 58% spike in transactions count. Also significant during the period was the 143% increase in average transaction fees, 40% YTD hashrate increase and 43% jump in mining difficulty.

As CoinJournal recently reported, Bitcoin’s network growth was partially fueled by the surge in Ordinals. [Read more here and here].

In terms of market performance, Bitcoin dominance peaked to levels last seen in April 2021. Meanwhile, the flagship cryptocurrency’s correlation with TradFi fell to a three-year low.

Solana, BNB and other Layer-1s

Growth was also witnessed across leading layer-1 chains, with Solana outpacing other L1s in relation to the increase of its market capitalization. Binance’s BNB Chain topped others in terms of best network performance YTD overall, with daily transactions increasing 113% compared to 48% for Ethereum. BNB Chain active addresses increased by 118%, compared to Ethereum’s 63%.

Also notable during the first six months of 2023 was the growth of subnets on Avalanche and shared security models by Cosmos.

The last few weeks have seen a bullish flip in crypto sentiment, particularly with the filing of a spot Bitcoin ETF by $9 trillion asset manager BlackRock. Ripple’s landmark win against the SEC last week is also a key factor driving market confidence today.  

Binance notes the “Bitcoin ETF season” could continue to bolster momentum even as the second half of the year sees greater adoption and innovation

The post Binance report shows crypto industry in “good health” in H1, 2023 appeared first on CoinJournal.

• Arkham (ARKM) price rose to $0.89 after its Binance Launchpad sale.
• AltSignals (ASI) token is in presale, currently priced at $0.01875.
• Both projects have artificial intelligence-powered algorithms, systems that could revolutionise blockchain intelligence and marketplace and trading respectively.

Arkham, a blockchain analytics platform and decentralised crypto intelligence marketplace, has a proprietary artificial intelligence (AI) layer that’s the engine of the platform’s capabilities. 

The native token ARKM currently trades on the open market and saw significant upside when it debuted after its Binance Launchpad sale, before paring the gains amid huge profit taking.

Here is the price outlook for Arkham (ARKM) and AltSignals (ASI), another project that could ride the strong AI narrative.

Arkham: deanonymizing blockchain with AI

A platform that offers access to on-chain data and analytics, and a marketplace for buying and selling of blockchain intelligence. That’s a simple understanding of what Arkham is. The Arkham ecosystem has two components – an Analytics Platform and the Intel Exchange.

At the heart of it is the native ARKM token and ULTRA, an AI-powered system that was in development for more than three years and had the backing of major AI industry players like OpenAI and Palantir. 

Arkham uses an ULTRA enabled algorithm to collect and match data and addresses, linking these to real-world entities and offering users access to key blockchain intelligence.

ARKM is a utility token that is used as the native currency on the Intel Exchange. Arkham uses the token to incentivize users, who get rewarded with ARKM when they submit intel and refer new users. The token also gives holders governance rights.

Can ARKM price reach $1 in 2023?

While the launch of Intel Exchange drew criticism from some within the crypto space, particularly on so-called “snitch-to-earn” in place of Arkham’s intel-to-earn product, the team and other proponents maintain the goal is to use the intel to expose the bad actors.

A flip in sentiment after the weak hands dumped airdropped tokens could combine with Arkham’s unique approach to crypto intelligence and the strong AI narrative to help the price of ARKM. The all-time high for the token is $0.89 and the current price is around $0.62. If bulls were to match to $1 in 2023, Arkham would need to rally more than 61%.

Not impossible, but the unpredictability of the market means it’s difficult to say with certainty ARKM will rise to $1. It could be higher or lower depending on market conditions and other factors. That said, Arkham has a great chance of being a successful blockchain platform. Its integration with leading blockchains, including Ethereum, BNB Chain, Arbitrum, Optimism, Avalanche, Polygon and Tron2 is a crucial milestone in its growth trajectory.

What is AltSignals?

AltSignals is a trading platform that has been operating since December 2017, providing signals to a growing number of users.

While it began by providing free crypto signals, the platform’s evolution has included expansion to setups for stocks and forex among others. Users get signals on potential buy or sell trades 24/7, factoring in market analysis and trends – all with a rising degree of accuracy and profitability powered by the proprietary AltAlgo trading algorithm.

Like Arkham, AltSignals has an AI-powered layer that is set to bring the key benefits of machine learning and natural language processing to the trading industry. 

The platform’s new AI system is called ActualizeAI and will offer a suite of AI tools for optimised performance. Traders can leverage these tools to bump the potential investment returns across all market conditions.

ASI token presale

The ActualizeAI platform will be powered by ASI. This is the native utility token that will not just give holders access to the AI stack, but also power ecosystem transactions, used for rewards and allow holders to earn through staking.

ASI is currently in presale and is seeing huge interest from investors. The token is currently priced at $0.01875 and will rise to $0.02274 in the last stage of the sale offer.

Find more about the AltSignals presale here.

AltSignals price prediction: Can ASI token reach 1 in 2023?

According to the AltSignals roadmap, its launch on Uniswap is expected in Q3, 2023 and on Binance and Bybit in Q4, 2023. Meanwhile, development of the ActualizeAI Dashboard will continue, with an Alpha launch and live trading expected to go live in Q1, 2024.  

I highlight the roadmap milestones because they could be key to ASI token’s performance after the presale, especially if an exchange like Binance announces trading support. 

The ActualizeAI system debut is also a key milestone to watch out for as demand for the token could build pre-launch. That means a lot of hype could surround ASI in the last quarter of 2023. Will price follow the likely sentiment?

To rise from $0.02274 to $1.00 between October and end of December this year would need buying pressure to push ASI value higher by nearly 4300%. While it is possible, the more likely targets would be much lower given other market forces could be at play. Targets for the immediate term would be around $0.1 by year’s end or early 2024.

The post Crypto price prediction: Arkham (ARKM) and AltSignals (ASI) appeared first on CoinJournal.

• XLM price rose by 26% to lead the top 100 cryptocurrencies and outshine XRP’s 9% gains in the past 24 hours.
• Stellar has had a series of positive developments, including its partnership with Bitso announced on Wednesday.
• XLM could bounce to $0.20 if today’s momentum continues.

Stellar (XLM) is currently the top performing altcoin among the top 100 cryptocurrencies by market cap.

According to data from CoinGecko, XLM price has spiked more than 26% in the past 24 hours as of 2 pm ET on July 19. Stellar’s native token was trading above $0.16, with a short term bullish outlook that suggests bulls could have a fresh go at the $0.20 supply wall.

Stellar’s XLM outpaces XRP

In recent days, its been Ripple’s XRP token that led the market in an upward push following its market-defining win against the US Securities and Exchange (SEC). Stellar rode that wave to hit highs of $0.19 last week. [Read more].

But while XRP remains above prices it traded at prior to Judge Analisa Torres’ ruling that XRP was not a security, its XLM that is outshining the rest of the top 100 coins today.

XRP is trading near $0.83 at the time of writing, roughly 9% up in the past 24 hours. Meanwhile, XLM has jumped from lows of $0.14 to an intraday peak above $0.16. On Tuesday, XLM/USD rebounded off the demand zone near $0.12 to give bulls new impetus seen today.

Why is Stellar price up today?

As CoinJournal highlighted earlier today, Stellar has partnered with Latin American crypto firm Bitso to bolster international payments to Colombia, Argentina and Mexico using USDC.  This came after Stellar and crypto platform fonbnk1 teamed up to help millions of unbanked across Africa to tap into the blockchain benefits via their prepaid SIM cards.

350 million people in Africa don’t have access to bank accounts, and only 20% of families have formal bank accounts.@fonbnk1 provides a real-world solution to this problem by turning 8 billion active prepaid SIM cards globally into virtual debit cards with Stellar. (1/3)

— Stellar (@StellarOrg) July 18, 2023

Stellar also recently announced a partnership with Honeycoin App to enable users across Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Nigeria, Ghana and the UK to cash out using their USDC balances at any MoneyGram location in these countries.

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